Until Death
by MovieBuffStarlet
Summary: Angel's sickness invades even the most precious moments between him and Collins.


Giggling and still half asleep, Angel opened his eyes and found himself staring into the grinning face of his lover.

Footsie was _quite_ the way to wake up…especially when you're ticklish.

"Honey!" Angel whined good naturedly, squirming like crazy. "Stop it! _Eeeek_!"

Obeying the wishes of his lover, Collins did as he was told. "Sorry, Angelcake. I just had to get you up somehow…"

"_Why_??" Angel giggled again, his legs still entangled with the professor's. Wordlessly, Collins pressed up against him, his need evident. The Latino stared into his eyes, shivering.

It felt good, but Angel had been feeling weak and feverish all day.

Actually, he'd been feeling under the weather and low in energy for almost two weeks now, robbing their relationship of any intimate moments. Angel knew that he was not going to get any better.

_Maybe I should just go for it while we still have a chance…_

He also knew that it wasn't fair to Collins. He didn't want to disappoint him yet again. That was not how he wanted to be remembered by his loved one.

With a wan smile, Angel kissed Collins softly on the mouth, accepting his advances.

Collins smiled against his mouth, overjoyed. He raised a hand to gingerly brush Angel's cheek with his fingers. He noticed that Angel's skin was hot to the touch.

"I'll be gentle." He whispered to Angel, pressing a soft kiss to the corner of his mouth.

Angel smiled again. "I know you will, honey."

Overwhelmed with affection for Angel, Collins caught his lips in a sweet, lingering kiss.

Angel knew that he probably kissed like a dead fish and looked no better. But Collins didn't seem to mind…he loved him just the same.

As Collins continued to kiss him, he began to run a hand gently over the delicate bones in his back. Angel was so thin now that the professor vowed to be as careful as he could…for fear of breaking him. Angel didn't mind…he enjoyed his gentle, protective touch.

Looking Collins in the eye, Angel rolled onto his back, signaling that he was ready. Collins slowly climbed on top of him, easing down his boxers while Angel pulled down his sweatpants.

"You ready, Ang?"

Angel nodded, feeling a little odd because he was trembling.

_Is it nerves? Why on earth would I be nervous with Tom…?_

Before he could contemplate this further, he felt Collins push into him. Angel groaned softly at the feeling.

Collins began a caring, gentle rhythm. This caused Angel's eyes to widen slightly. He gasped. This happened to be very pleasurable but….

In the back of his mind, Angel could sense that something wasn't quite right. He felt a little uncomfortable and his head was pounding. He felt the urge to tell Collins to 'slow down' which didn't make any sense…seeing as Collins was already being as slow and as gentle as he could. And yet, Angel was panting harder than usual…his heart was racing.

Torn from his thoughts, Angel gasped breathlessly as he felt Collins' hand on his penis, pumping and massaging him firmly. Collins started to thrust into him slightly harder and faster, attempting to drive them both to orgasm.

Angel suddenly felt dizzy and like he couldn't breathe. He was scared, too…this feeling distracted him from the lovemaking just a little.

Nevertheless, Angel came quickly….moaning and screaming. His body jerking against Collins' as he soaked his hand with semen. Angel didn't know if he was screaming out of pleasure or if it was to ward off this feeling of lightheadedness that threatened to wash over him.

With one final thrust, Collins hit his peak soon after Angel, moaning into his shoulder as he came inside of him. He lay on top of Angel for a split second, gasping for air. He noticed that Angel was breathing rather heavily underneath him…almost wheezing. In order to give him some room to breathe, the professor quickly rolled off of him, resting on the bed beside him now. He pulled his boxers up and then proceeded to do the same to Angel's sweatpants, glancing casually at Angel…trying to mask his fear.

"You okay, Ang?" He asked, kissing his cheek.

Angel could not seem to catch his breath. He was sweating and his head was spinning. It was quite embarrassing, actually. Angel blinked, trying to answer Collins….it came out as a slur.

Collins propped himself up on his elbow when he heard this, leaning over Angel. He instinctively placed his hand over his chest….trying to calm him.

"Hey…breathe, Angel. Just breathe…it's okay…."

Angel was more than a little scared now. Hearing himself slur something unintelligible to his lover was surreal. He _knew_ what he had meant to say…but the words were just not coming out. This was enough to push Angel past a feeling of mere embarrassment and into something more serious…fear.

Angel squeezed his eyes shut in a panic, tears threatening to spill over. A small, pitiful squeak escaped him.

_What the fuck is wrong with me?_

He began to feel unbearably hot and prickly in his neck and chest area.

_Water. I need some water and maybe some fresh air…_

Angel unsteadily stood up off the bed.

He immediately cursed this decision, for standing had made this lightheaded sensation even worse.

"Angel…wait…" Collins was scared now.

To Angel, the voice of his lover sounded like it was coming from far away. His vision was also affected….he couldn't see. Everything did not go completely dark like he was blind…but just kind of snowy….like on a broken television set. Angel blinked, which made no difference.

_Shit…_

Angel swayed a little. He realized with a sickening feeling that he was going to fall over. He took one step, determined to make it to another room. It would be less embarrassing that way.

He didn't even get to take another step, however. His legs gave out from under him and he crashed heavily to the floor.

Collins sat on the edge of the bed in shock, staring down at his fallen lover. His mind was churning with panic…he didn't know what to do. He hoped that this was some sick joke.

"Angel?" He choked out, barely above a whisper.

Lying on his side with his back facing Collins, Angel remained motionless.

This seemed to finally snap Collins back to reality and he leapt off the bed. Crouching down, he did his best to scoop up Angel in his arms, pulling his torso up off the floor. He cradled him in his arms like one would an infant. Angel remained limp. So lifeless, thin and so….

_Pale…_

"_Angel_!" Collins cried out again, loudly this time. His voice cracked.

_Check his pulse. Call 911…_

Reaching down, Collins gripped onto a wrist with a gentle pressure.

Just as the discovery that Angel was not dead presented itself to him, Angel twitched. Collins let out a shaky sigh of relief. He squeezed Angel tighter to him and this time, Angel came to, slowly opening his eyes.

"My head…." Angel groaned, letting his eyes fall shut again.

"Stay with me, Ang…" Collins pleaded, shaking him lightly. Taking Angel's comment into consideration, Collins guessed that Angel might've hit his head on something when he fell. He started to shift and change his grip on Angel, wanting to move him over to the bed.

"No, please. Can we just…stay here?" Angel pleaded.

Nodding, Collins cupped Angel's face, trying to comfort him.

"I'm freezing…." Angel informed him through chattering teeth. His whole body was trembling.

Actually, Angel's cheek was damp with a light perspiration. His face was flushed and his skin felt unpleasantly hot. He was burning up.

"I have to get you some ice, Angel…"

"Stay with me, honey. _Please_…" The Latino whimpered softly, burying his face into Collins' chest, breathing in his scent.

"Okay, sweetie. Okay…." Collins soothed him, his voice husky with emotion. "I'm going to stay with you for a little while….then we've got to get you to a hospital…."

"_No_!" Angel was scared. He hated hospitals. He knew that being admitted into one meant that he was basically done for. Hospitals represented the end.

Even worse yet, hospitals were depressing and lonely. He would suffer and die in unfamiliar, cold surroundings with people that didn't love him.

He would be without Collins. Without his voice, touch, or love.

He'd be without _anyone_ when visiting hours were over. What if he slipped away without getting to say goodbye?

It wasn't fair. What did he do to deserve this?

What was the point of living?

Angel was too weak to fight, so he just cried. Cried as Collins rocked him back and forth in his arms.

He'd never felt so helpless in his life. Anger mixed with sadness tainted his sobs.

Now in tears himself, Collins kissed his forehead and hair. He proceeded to place kisses all over Angel's face, every inch of skin he could reach, in order to ease his pain. He felt so frustrated with himself…he felt that he was partly responsible for this.

"I'm sorry, Angel. You were too sick. I shouldn't have…."

Collins broke off here, crushing Angel to him. He never wanted to let go.

"I'm sorry…"

THE END

_A/N: (whew!) Reviews, please…_


End file.
